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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Hess Looking to Get Completely Out of the Utica Shale

Hess Corp., the oil and gas explorer that’s aggressively shed assets in recent years, is seeking buyers for its holdings in the Utica Shale basin, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The New York-based explorer is working with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to solicit bids for the assets, which could fetch as much as $500 million, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

Goldman Sachs recently started sending teasers out to potential buyers, describing the assets up for grabs, one of the people said. Hess is selling its 50 percent stake in a joint venture in the region that it created in 2011 with Consol Energy Inc., the people said.

Hess has already sold 74,000 of the 95,000 acres it had acquired in the Utica shale, which doesn't include the 65,000 acre joint venture with Consol referenced in this article. But now it appears that Hess will leave the Utica shale behind altogether as soon as they can find a buyer.